1 dead, another faints while cleaning septic tank sans gear

Mira Road: One private sanitation worker died while another fell unconscious after the duo entered a septic tank in Bhayandar East. The incident happened in Nakshatra Society in Golden Nest when the workers — Ganesh Awate (35), and Mahendra Pondkar (47) —were called to clean the septic tank late Monday afternoon.
They entered the tank using a rope and fell unconscious after inhaling a poisonous gas the moment they entered the tank, according to an eyewitness. Sensing something wrong, people around pulled them up and rushed them to a nearby hospital where Pondkar was declared dead while Awate is being treated. “They had no safety gear when we saw them, But we are trying to find out if it was provided to them or not,” said senior police inspector of Navghar police station Dhiraj Koli. He also added that as of now the police have registered an accidental death report (ADR). They were first taken to a nearby private hospital where they were allegedly denied admission before being admitted to Thunga hospital.